The growing presence of the Islamic State (IS) group in the region, as evidenced by the ongoing siege of Marawi City in the Philippines by IS-linked militant groups, has forced three nations in the ASEAN bloc to unite and act.

The neighbors met Thursday in a much-anticipated trilateral meeting in Manila, in which their top diplomats, police, military and counterterrorism chiefs compared notes on the situation developing in the region, as well as effective strategies in tackling terrorism and violent extremism.

They pledged to follow up their concerns over recent incidents in their respective countries by jointly developing a 15-point Plan of Action, which includes making “a cross-analysis comparison of each others’ terrorism laws to enhance legislation.”

Philippine Foreign Minister Alan Cayetano read out the concluding trilateral joint statement reaffirming the neighbors’ commitment, tasking their respective senior official delegation to deliberate further.

“The ministers raised concerns over the recent incidents of terrorism and violent extremism in our countries, and reaffirmed our desire to work together to jointly develop and implement counterterrorism measures and strategies,” Cayetano said in Manila on Thursday.

The Plan of Action, which was drafted mainly by Indonesia, also suggested points such as spearheading social and economic development between the three countries, particularly in the tri-border region.

Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi said after the meeting that a trilateral forum of senior officials would convene “immediately” in Indonesia to iron out the details of the initiatives for the Plan of Action, before the foreign ministers meet again this October.

The decision to help shape and learn from each others’ terrorism laws comes at a time when debate over the ongoing revision of the 2003 Terrorism Law swirls around the possible involvement of the Indonesian Military (TNI) in counterterrorism efforts.

One of the obstacles preventing closer counterterrorism collaboration among the three countries has to do with the different focal points in their counterterrorism efforts.

In both Indonesia and Malaysia, the police force plays the leading role in counterterrorism measures, whereas the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) leads Manila’s crackdown on terror.

National Police chief Gen. Tito Karnavian, who was also present at the trilateral meeting, said the police forces of both countries would seek to increase cooperation in counterterrorism and other transnational crimes, as well as provide capacity building for the Philippine side at the Jakarta Center for Law Enforcement Cooperation.

Tito and his Philippine counterpart, director general Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa, also set up a direct line to facilitate faster intelligence sharing between the two police forces.

Meanwhile, TNI commander Gen. Gatot Nurmantyo said he and his military chief counterparts from Malaysia and the Philippines have also set up a monthly intelligence sharing forum in addition to the work that the three countries have put in for the joint coordinated maritime patrols.

Gatot also shot down rumors that the TNI would be deploying troops in Marawi in light of the overdrawn conflict.

Indonesia called the trilateral meeting an immediate response to the fallout in Marawi, which has raised concerns that IS influence may spread in the region.

The second trilateral meeting comes on the back of a coordinated military exercise by the three nations in Tarakan, North Kalimantan, that marked the beginning of joint coordinated patrols, the goal of last year’s first trilateral meeting on maritime security in Yogyakarta.

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